Tis the season for reflection and resolutions.
Well Egress is shifting gears and starting a whole bunch of new and awesome stuff in 2013 and as we make that change there will be more blogs from the band coming achya!! That being said i am going to make a slow transition from this blog being solely about the band and use it more so as a personal blog (which i am sure will still mostly be about the band since that takes up about 90% of my life) That being said i am leaving somethings behind me as i re- emerge in 2013 as an individual and Lady Egress. A letter to my Rival, a letter to my enemy.
Dear the People We Were,
I have to say, I never quite understood you from the start. Although i tried,.... at times I felt as though we came from different worlds, different sides of the tracks. I would hear you say negative things about people,... people you didn't even know, judging them on their appearance or interests. I didn't like that or the way it made me feel. Then one day you didnt even know and I heard you saying those things about me. It was no surprise, you wore your insecurities like a cloak and skewed people and their ideas with them all the while disguising your disdain with arrogance.
You sucked the world and anyone who would listen into your tornado without warning or consideration and felt as though I was simply a means to your end. Walking on eggshells because of the erratic comings and goings and hot and colds and this was BEFORE things really went south. Your brooding would cause green rays of longing and as i moved forth with creating, playing and singing so freely, you were blinded from the truth, which was your self defeating nature. It has been a long road to where i am heading and I have myself and also you, my enemy to thank. For putting me down before you really knew me and disguising it in "friendship", for your vast and quick judgements on those you barely know, for your arrogance and rage, for your lack of follow through and ambition. You, Blaming everyone else for your short comings have been my mirror on the wall. It has helped me see my simple nature and how quickly i can complicate things. I am in control of almost every aspect of my life. I can pick and choose my battles and I have. I am done battling the ghost of you. I am done battling the ghost of me. I am happy with where i am and am going in life and nothing,not even death or illness can take what i have accomplished away from me. For every night i lie down with accomplishment as a pillow.
Heres to 2013, so long old friend, so long old enemy, good luck and good rid dens.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne
From the midway. I am the piano/violin player, creative partner, and songstress of This Way to the Egress. I have set up this blog to document the whereabout, whoseawhats, travels, trials and tribulations of our journey. It is This Way to my story............
- Lady Egress
- I am the piano/violin player, creative partner , and songstress of This Way to the Egress. I have set up this blog to document the whereabout, whoseawhats, travels, trials and tribulations of our journey. It is This Way to my Story............
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
This Way to Sarah: FLIPPING ROCKS, IM NO DONALD TRUMP.
This Way to Sarah: FLIPPING ROCKS, IM NO DONALD TRUMP.: I've spent some time recently taking things out of boxes and putting them away in our new band home,...'The Egress Inn.' Yet all of this org...
FLIPPING ROCKS, IM NO DONALD TRUMP.
I've spent some time recently taking things out of boxes and putting them away in our new band home,...'The Egress Inn.' Yet all of this organization hasn't helped when it comes to building a brand for the band. I can talk for hours and hours about myself,.. who I am,. what i do,. where i hope to go,...what I feel, what i believe,.who i love, etc. However when it comes to defining our band I am at a bit of a loss. A total loss. I keep coming to we love each other, we love music and we love to play and perform with each other,... it is Such an amazing thing this connection we have,.... yet that is not enough in the business world. We certainly aren't looking to be millionaires or even to take this world by storm we just want to be free to create and continue to gather a fan base to revel in what we do,....all of this takes time and money,... and that where this business comes in.
Fronting/ co- Fronting, running a band is Just like a business, it consumes my brain about 90% of my day. Band mates can practice, learn their parts, contribute when they can and then go home to their lovers, jobs, or whatever they do when they aren't being scalded by Taylor and Myself to "practice" "show-up" "stay focused" blah blah blah.,... they don't have to carry the weight of keeping everything going, AND recording, writing, creating, booking, promoting, writing their parts or even more importantly building a stronger momentum so that we can all continue to have this outlet and opportunities.
Its like a drug,.... I thought I got sober three years ago however, this is just equally as mind bending. The Highs, the traveling,. the interesting people we meet, the experiences we share,the rush of the show,the exhaustion and crash after a good tour, the late night nights and delirious mornings. all so we can create more,. build more, study more, see more, travel more, sing More MOre MORe MORE!!!
I have an arsenal of musician friends, artist friends and i have my band mates,..... but we are artists,... thats perhaps my point,... how does an artist that is not inherently a business minded person,.... put together a good business strategy for something they are more then just financially invested in,.... but emotionally dating, much like a lover.
I am grateful everyday for mine and Taylor's relationship,... somehow after all this time we have balanced,... a relationship,. creative partnership,. and business relationship,... however he is JUST as emotionally invested in Egress as I. Where do musicians go in their brain to disconnect the two enough to know how to promote and market themselves and their troupe properly?
I am excited, curious and even a bit anxious to see where these new ideas take us, perhaps ill then find some answers,..... or turn enough rocks that i start asking the right questions.
Fronting/ co- Fronting, running a band is Just like a business, it consumes my brain about 90% of my day. Band mates can practice, learn their parts, contribute when they can and then go home to their lovers, jobs, or whatever they do when they aren't being scalded by Taylor and Myself to "practice" "show-up" "stay focused" blah blah blah.,... they don't have to carry the weight of keeping everything going, AND recording, writing, creating, booking, promoting, writing their parts or even more importantly building a stronger momentum so that we can all continue to have this outlet and opportunities.
Its like a drug,.... I thought I got sober three years ago however, this is just equally as mind bending. The Highs, the traveling,. the interesting people we meet, the experiences we share,the rush of the show,the exhaustion and crash after a good tour, the late night nights and delirious mornings. all so we can create more,. build more, study more, see more, travel more, sing More MOre MORe MORE!!!
I have an arsenal of musician friends, artist friends and i have my band mates,..... but we are artists,... thats perhaps my point,... how does an artist that is not inherently a business minded person,.... put together a good business strategy for something they are more then just financially invested in,.... but emotionally dating, much like a lover.
I am grateful everyday for mine and Taylor's relationship,... somehow after all this time we have balanced,... a relationship,. creative partnership,. and business relationship,... however he is JUST as emotionally invested in Egress as I. Where do musicians go in their brain to disconnect the two enough to know how to promote and market themselves and their troupe properly?
I am excited, curious and even a bit anxious to see where these new ideas take us, perhaps ill then find some answers,..... or turn enough rocks that i start asking the right questions.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
This Way to Sarah: POLISHING TURDS
This Way to Sarah: POLISHING TURDS: "for whatever we lose lose(like you or me) its always ourselves we find in the sea." -E.E.Cummings my favorite poet,.... this quote was b...
POLISHING TURDS
"for whatever we lose lose(like you or me) its always ourselves we find in the sea." -E.E.Cummings
my favorite poet,....
this quote was best in describing the day I had yesterday. We, the six members of Egress piled in the van friday and drove down to virginia beach for the second and final shoot of our "first ever music" video and I have to tell you this whole experience has been a bitter sweet one.
When Taylor and I first sat down and seriously discussed what we wanted to accomplish in a music video, we both quickly and without haste agreed, we wanted it to be a 4 min movie. We didn't just want it to be the band in some ironic or creepy setting, singing and/or performing to the camera, but instead, a story, a story of the song.
This is partially why him and i make such a good team,.... we have very similar taste and direction and he's one of the only people that can talk me down from the "stress" ledges i so frequently climb up on. Anywho, as i digressed.
We had our first shoot at our favorite venue Roxy n Dukes in Dunellen NJ. We shot the majority of the video there that day. We had our friends from The Unholy Sideshow and Hamburger James join us and I was honored to have my Mommy, her Mate, Bobby and my Student Ali Join us for the shoot that day. We had originally planned on shooting the remainder at Coney Island first it was delayed by rain and then, damned hurricane Sandy came and poor coney island was in its path,....... thus the 7 hour trip to Virgina.
Normally I love traveling, wherever it may be,... however I have been sick for about 3 weeks now and was not looking forward to standing on the beach all day coughing my lungs up while we shot the most daunting of shots for the video. It seemed as though, so much had been against us with this video, first we had to reschedule b/c of rain, then the hurricane... now we drive 7 hours and have to shoot in VERY windy, 43 degree weather. We had to recast a key character and we were now short an Egressian. Sand was pelting us in the face (It was SOOO cold, it reminded me of the one birthday I had in February that My mom and myself grabbed Dog and drove to sandy hook at 4am after a bottle of wine.) the wind was working against us, but like my Egress family does, everyone worked together and we alongside of Director, Ben Muri, Polished ONE HELL OF A TURD!!!!
We had nothing but coffee and donuts(not exactly power food) all day,.. there was no where convenient to go to the bathroom,...I literally was coughing so hard I peed my pants a bit,.... but we all pushed through and afterwards treated ourselves to an awful, poorly served hot meal at Dennys on our way outta town. It seemed, even more so then, that the last shot of the day was fitting, it was us driving away in Clarence.
After dinner, We worked out the driving schedule and who would be riding shot gun,.... John drove first so he could sleep before he had to continue his trek to brooklyn, and Joe kept him company, Mat and Jaclyn slept in the back to prepare for 2nd shift and Taylor and I curled up on the middle bench, and this is where I found myself again.
As we rode over the 17 or so mile bridge that weaves above and below the chesapeake bay, the sun was setting, casting a warm and distant glow on the water. I couldn't stop watching the little white caps as we scurried down the highway in clarence. I Love being on the road,... I was having montages of all of the interesting moments I had through out the day and then my thoughts drifted even further to my Dad, and Amy and the others I had lost, to my mom, brother and sister and those I still have, and then returned to me, inside Clarence with my music made family. There is just something about the ocean, something about the sea. That sunset over the chesapeake made the entire grueling day worth it. That sunset will be amidst the montage of life's moments before i die. That sunset and that sea, i found myself in.
I can't wait to see the finished product, I really hope y'all like it. We worked very hard in more ways then I can count to create something we believed in. Something that will exist long after we do. Something you'll all laugh at and enjoy. I will say it again,...
"for whatever we lose lose(like you or me) its always ourselves we find in the sea."
my favorite poet,....
this quote was best in describing the day I had yesterday. We, the six members of Egress piled in the van friday and drove down to virginia beach for the second and final shoot of our "first ever music" video and I have to tell you this whole experience has been a bitter sweet one.
When Taylor and I first sat down and seriously discussed what we wanted to accomplish in a music video, we both quickly and without haste agreed, we wanted it to be a 4 min movie. We didn't just want it to be the band in some ironic or creepy setting, singing and/or performing to the camera, but instead, a story, a story of the song.
This is partially why him and i make such a good team,.... we have very similar taste and direction and he's one of the only people that can talk me down from the "stress" ledges i so frequently climb up on. Anywho, as i digressed.
We had our first shoot at our favorite venue Roxy n Dukes in Dunellen NJ. We shot the majority of the video there that day. We had our friends from The Unholy Sideshow and Hamburger James join us and I was honored to have my Mommy, her Mate, Bobby and my Student Ali Join us for the shoot that day. We had originally planned on shooting the remainder at Coney Island first it was delayed by rain and then, damned hurricane Sandy came and poor coney island was in its path,....... thus the 7 hour trip to Virgina.
Normally I love traveling, wherever it may be,... however I have been sick for about 3 weeks now and was not looking forward to standing on the beach all day coughing my lungs up while we shot the most daunting of shots for the video. It seemed as though, so much had been against us with this video, first we had to reschedule b/c of rain, then the hurricane... now we drive 7 hours and have to shoot in VERY windy, 43 degree weather. We had to recast a key character and we were now short an Egressian. Sand was pelting us in the face (It was SOOO cold, it reminded me of the one birthday I had in February that My mom and myself grabbed Dog and drove to sandy hook at 4am after a bottle of wine.) the wind was working against us, but like my Egress family does, everyone worked together and we alongside of Director, Ben Muri, Polished ONE HELL OF A TURD!!!!
We had nothing but coffee and donuts(not exactly power food) all day,.. there was no where convenient to go to the bathroom,...I literally was coughing so hard I peed my pants a bit,.... but we all pushed through and afterwards treated ourselves to an awful, poorly served hot meal at Dennys on our way outta town. It seemed, even more so then, that the last shot of the day was fitting, it was us driving away in Clarence.
After dinner, We worked out the driving schedule and who would be riding shot gun,.... John drove first so he could sleep before he had to continue his trek to brooklyn, and Joe kept him company, Mat and Jaclyn slept in the back to prepare for 2nd shift and Taylor and I curled up on the middle bench, and this is where I found myself again.
As we rode over the 17 or so mile bridge that weaves above and below the chesapeake bay, the sun was setting, casting a warm and distant glow on the water. I couldn't stop watching the little white caps as we scurried down the highway in clarence. I Love being on the road,... I was having montages of all of the interesting moments I had through out the day and then my thoughts drifted even further to my Dad, and Amy and the others I had lost, to my mom, brother and sister and those I still have, and then returned to me, inside Clarence with my music made family. There is just something about the ocean, something about the sea. That sunset over the chesapeake made the entire grueling day worth it. That sunset will be amidst the montage of life's moments before i die. That sunset and that sea, i found myself in.
I can't wait to see the finished product, I really hope y'all like it. We worked very hard in more ways then I can count to create something we believed in. Something that will exist long after we do. Something you'll all laugh at and enjoy. I will say it again,...
"for whatever we lose lose(like you or me) its always ourselves we find in the sea."
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM and SIR !!!!
Ahhh, Blogging, we'll its been awhile. Its seems as though I only seem to blog when I am very inspired and although I haven't been blogging lately I have been inspired, just so incredibly busy (and lacking a lap top) I haven't made time to do it. BUT!! That means because I am doing it now,....... something has REALLY sparked my interest and Id really like to share it all with you!!!!
We just recently finished our second tour with Joe Black form the U.K among the very long hours, drives, and mildly attended shows there lied a diamond, well two diamonds.
I'll Start with Cripps Puppets!!
Every so often you'll hear a friend speak so highly of their significant other, and say something along the lines of my "boyfriend" is so cool, or my "lady" is so talented, in this instance, Valerie had said, "my boy friend is a puppeteer and he is AWSEOME." OF course i believed her, but I had to see it with my own eyes! The show its self is riveting, I found myself holding my breath so I could hear every word and take in every gesture. Madison hand carves and paint all of his puppets and they are beautiful. You truely dont realize how much of an art it is until you witness this splendor. He accompanied himelf with a harmonica in the key of E and my Personal Favorite puppet was
Sam. E . Minor. I am not sure If Ive spelled that correct, BUt regardless. CHECK HIM OUT, SUPPORT WHAT HE DOES.
https://www.facebook.com/crippspuppets
 |
| Sam E Minor |
Now Onto Vaudevie!!!!
In case you haven't met her, you might know her as being one third of the Southern Band HELLBLINKI, dear friends and touring comrades of ours. When she isn't slaying you with her voice, shredding you with saw, or charming you with her good looks and accordion with those crazy cats she is Vaudevie. She is gearing up to release her first debut album and she was kind enough to invite some of Egress to join her on her album version of You Are My Sunshine!! This is where YOU come into play. In case you haven't Heard Amanda Palmer has set the precedence for independent artists. She has taken the steps and done the hard work to remove her art from the record labels and do it her self. This is the start of a new generation and I hope you'll help Valerie!!!
I was absolutely taken back by her performance as a soloist. As a woman performer and song writer myself, I have never seen such passion and persistence and quality in a female performer!!! She is amazing, talented, adorable, silly and a very dear friend!
SO Please check her out and Love her so!!!
AND SUPPORT THE ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS THAT COLOR THIS WORLD THEIR WAY!!!!
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